The private home market in the Republic is in the doldrums, with the prime residential segment especially quiet. However, with a lack of new supply expected in coming years, some analysts have said the prime segment could be the first to benefit from a market recovery. One reason why high-end projects appear to have been hit hardest is the drop in foreign demand, due to measures such as the Additional...

The number of registered professionals in the property sector in Singapore has fallen in the past year, according to data from the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) released on Thursday (Jan 21). In the past year, there were 1,299 new salespersons who joined the industry, a decrease from the 3,006 in 2014, CEA said in a news release. CEA Director of Policy and Licensing Heng Whoo Kiat said the...

Keppel Land has acquired a 22.4 per cent stake in 112 Katong mall from BHG, Imagine Properties and Perennial Singapore Investment for S$51.4 million, Keppel Corp announced in a press release on Sunday (Jan 17). The remaining 77.6 per cent stake is held by Alpha Asia Macro Trends Fund, which is managed by Alpha Investment Partners, a property fund management vehicle of Keppel Land. Keppel Corp said...

A key benchmark interest rate used to price home loans rose again on Wednesday (Jan 13), crossing the 1.25 per cent mark to reach a level last seen about seven years ago. According to data from the Association of Banks in Singapore, the three-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) was fixed at 1.252 per cent on Wednesday, up from 1.249 per cent on Tuesday. The three-month Sibor stood at 1.185...

JTC has awarded the tender for an industrial site at Tuas South Link 2 (Plot 5) to the highest bidder, Hiap Shing Construction, which submitted a tendered price of S$3 million, it said in a press release on Thursday (Jan 14). The tender for the site was launched on Sep 29, 2015 and closed on Nov 24, 2015 with three bids submitted, the national developer said. The 5,050 sq m site has a tenure of 20...

SINGHAIYI Group's application to the Controller of Residential Property for its approval on the proposed sale of City Suites was rejected, resulting in the termination of the memorandum of understanding it entered into with ACG Construction. SingHaiyi said in April last year it plans to sell Corporate Residence Pte Ltd, a developer for City Suites, a private freehold residential project along Balestier...

Rents of non-landed private homes as well as Housing & Development Board flats continued to decline last year, based on the December 2015 flash estimates from SRX Property. However, the volume of rental contracts in both markets rose in December on a year-on-year basis. SRX Property's overall rental index for non-landed private homes eased 5.4 per cent in 2015, comparable to the 5.2 per cent fall in...

About 10 per cent of the office space at Guoco Tower in the integrated Tanjong Pagar Centre project, and 60 per cent of retail space, have been committed some 6 months ahead of the project’s completion. Guocoland shared these figures on Wednesday at a topping-out ceremony, graced by Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, for the S$3.2 billion flagship project. Guoco Tower has a total net...

AVERAGE island-wide first-storey retail rentals have fallen by 1.2 per cent in Q4 2015, compared to the last quarter, to about S$30.50 per square foot (psf), DTZ data showed on Wednesday. This is the third consecutive decline since Q2 2015. For the whole of 2015, average first-storey rents fell at a faster pace of 5.9 per cent, compared to the slower decline of 0.3 per cent in 2014. "Much of the...

CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Singapore's largest office real estate investment trust by value, is selling an office tower in the city-state's central business district, according to a person familiar with the transaction. CapitaLand Commercial is seeking to sell the 23-story One George Street building in the Raffles Place office district, the person said, asking not to be named as the information is...